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Old Man Winter ready to appear again

The first day of spring is Wednesday. But Mother Nature is not ready to give up on winter this week with more snow in the forecast.

This is the latest update from Accuweather.com

State College, Pa. — 18 March 2013 — AccuWeather.com reports the heavy snow invading the Northeast Monday will graze the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to New York City to Boston, but eventually rain will win out over the snow.

Cold air will be stubborn to leave the Northeast’s interior and northern New England, allowing significant snow to fall.

However, the same cannot be said for the I-95 corridor from Boston southward.

While enough cold air will be present for snow and sleet to accompany the complex storm as it first reaches Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, milder air will arrive and lead to a changeover to rain at a quick pace compared to places farther inland.

Still, a slushy coating to an inch of snow could create slick a morning commute around Washington, D.C., and Baltimore early Monday, especially in the suburbs. However, with temperatures a few degrees above freezing in most spots, most road surfaces will just be wet.

New York City will also see a slushy coating to an inch of snow Monday afternoon. Untreated roads will become slushy with non-paved surfaces having the greatest chance of seeing an inch of snow during the evening drive. Only if a burst of snow accompanies the storm into New York City will roads turn white.

With the snow and sleet reaching Philadelphia during the late morning hours of Monday, a slushy coating may develop on grassy and non-paved surfaces, but roads will mostly be wet.

One to three inches of snow will fall in Boston Monday night into early Tuesday, which will likely make roads slippery for the morning commute Tuesday.

A longer period of snow and sleet will create more slick conditions for travelers just north and west of all the I-95 cities from Washington, D.C., to Boston.

For example, roads may become slushy from the northern suburbs up through Allentown, where the changeover to rain will occur later.

Even after the changeover to rain, it will not be smooth sailing for travelers. The rain will still create less-than-ideal conditions for motorists by reducing visibility, while low-hanging clouds and the rain at area airports can trigger flight delays.

There is the chance that the storm can bring enough rain to cause inland and urban flooding and enough onshore wind to cause coastal flooding and beach erosion, especially in New England.

Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski details the potential problems in “New England Flooding, Coastal Concerns.” Sosnowski also mentions the potential for flooding in parts of the Ohio Valley and South from Kentucky and Tennessee to the Virginias.

Residents of Washington, D.C., should not be surprised that a snowstorm is bypassing the region with this winter’s dismal snow total standing at only 1.7 inches at Reagan National Airport, the city’s official weather reporting station.

If the winter season ended with this weekend, this winter and its 1.7 inches would rank third among Washington, D.C.’s least snowy winters. The nation’s capital typically records 15.2 inches of snow by St. Patrick’s Day.

On the other hand, this winter’s storm track has brought numerous rounds of snow to Boston. The winter’s snow total currently stands at 55.9 inches, well above the 39.0 inches that typically falls by St. Patrick’s Day and the 43.9 inches the city averages a winter.